Oliver Sheppard

8. World Burns to Death
9. DRI
10. The Stains / MDC
11. Roy Orbison
12. Rev Horton Heat
13. Stick Men with Ray Guns
14. Big Boys
15. At the Drive In
17. Nervebreakers
18. Butthole Surfers
19. ZZ Top
20. Freddie King

Robert Johnson’s 1937 Dallas recordings are above all these.

Here’s my list, for now:

(in no particular order)

1. Ornette Coleman (and his quartet)
2. Janis Joplin
3. The Dicks
4. Buddy Holly and the Crickets
5. Really Red
6. 13th Floor Elevators / Roky Erickson
7. Zakary Thaks

(Cont in comments)

notorious radical left communist rag says tax the rich

A 1906 cartoon in Punch about new messaging technology—in this case, wireless, portable telegraph machines—leading to a social state of affairs that doesn’t look too unfamiliar in 2026.

#prototexting #edwardiansmartphones #wirelesstechnology

One of many English translations of the first poem in Gottfried Benn’s groundbreaking MORGUE chapbook of 1912.

My own translation of Benn’s “Kleine Aster”—and further thoughts on Benn—can be found on my Dammerung Substack here:

tr.ee/evfsVf

#darkpoetry #gothicpoetry #germanexpressionism

FB event page with details:

tr.ee/IpW87r

I’ll be guest DJing RADIO CLASH for its 8th anniversary on Tuesday, January 27 at Charlie’s Star Lounge.

Founding DJ Spencer of radioclash_productions will be joined by me, Perdidos, Sleazy Lee, and Alien Boy.

More details at event page in the comments.

The woman killed by ICE agents on Wednesday was award-winning American poet Renée Good.

Good was shot in the head three times on January 7th after ICE agents told her to drive away from Portland Ave., a street two blocks from her house.

See her poetry here: poets.org/2020-on-lear...

#RenéeGood

Uh oh. Stay safe, Utah.

#ailurophile #ailurophilia

Event page on FB:

tr.ee/LJpK5u

Have to mention this:—

This Friday, January 9 at Reno’s, longtime Dallas hardcore punk/rock promoter Michael Hawkins —who’s been helping make punk happen in North Texas since the 1980s— is celebrating his 76th birthday. 🔥🎂

Event page in comments.

#dallaspunk #txhc #dallashardcore #texashardcore

\ R\A\W M\A\T\E\R\I\A\L
\ # 1914
\ Max Kuiper
\ 7\jan\2026

From the 1922 VANITY FAIR “A Dictionary for the Motion Pictures.”

The full text of Vanity Fair’s snarky, Ambrose Bierce (Devil’s Dictionary)-inspired lexicon for the flickers, is here: tr.ee/gSSXpg
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#vamps #vamp #vampires #vanityfair #ambrosebierce #devilsdictionary

Theda the Bombay Cat nestled up against my leg this chilly January morning.

#thedabarathebombaycat #ailurophile #ailurophilia

Merry 12th Day of Christmas! 🎄

“Theda Bara the Bombay Cat,” December 30, 2025.

Digging the color and composition. No edits save for a built-in iPhone filter.

🐈‍⬛😻

#thedabarathebombaycat #ailurophile #ailurophilia

Japanese “Out of Step” #MinorThreat graphic—shirt print.

Managed to nab this as a lil’ Yule present to myself. I love this design to death, but it didn’t take Theda very long to warm up to it, either. 😻

She’d prob beg me to keep it for herself, but that’d just be like—meowing at a wall… 😽🫠

"Emily Brontë," by Patrick Branwell Brontë, 1833.

Pictured, German director Fritz Lang with black-coiffed Brigitte Bardot in Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 film CONTEMPT ("Le Mepris").

At some point, every train must debark. Rest in peace to “locomotive of women’s history” (Simone de Beauvoir, 1959) and pop culture tour-de-force Brigitte Bardot.

#divinebb #bb #brigittebardot #simonedebeauvoir

Pictured: Greta Garbo on sofa, photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1946. Here, Garbo is 40.

Garbo was the most famous actress to have a direct link to the poetry of German Expressionism. I detail #GretaGarbo ‘s links to #GermanExpressionism at my Substack, here: tr.ee/0v6zBt

"Without books, God is silent, justice dormant, natural science at a stand, philosophy lame, letters dumb, and all things involved in darkness.”

—Thomas Bartholin, “On The Burning Of A Library,” ca. 1670

#ThomasBartholin #ThomasVBartholin #qotd

In My Eyes Minor Threat

Now Spinning: Minor Threat, In My Eyes.

RIP to a Texas great. 💔😓 #joeely

Rest in peace #RobReiner —Marty DiBergi. SPINAL TAP and PRINCESS BRIDE alone would have made anyone’s career untouchable. (My personal two favorites of his.)

The warm, beating heart of human decency was palpable in everything he wrote and directed. A great fighter for the good society, too. 💔

Was lucky enough to finally get this collection of Kolmar’s poetry. German poet, related to (but not technically part of) the German Expressionist movement. (For some reason “adjacent to” is the way to say such a thing, du jour.)

#gertrudkolmar #darkpoetry #germanexpressionism #darkpoems

My third collection of poetry, THE FUNERAL COLONY, came out in July.

I’m proud of it. It took a long time to write, revise, worry over, rewrite, etc. (SOOO many times!) You can buy it at oliversheppard-dot-com.

FUNERAL COLONY can be bought on Amazon—and elsewhere!

#gothicpoetry #weirdpoetry

“3 small cracks on mirror, $50 OBO as-is”

#iansflag #damaged #blackflag

Truer words.